1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a unit for cleaning an end portion of a recording material and to an image forming apparatus including the unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic type, regions as margins where image formation is not performed are provided to the left, right, top and bottom of a recording material. In this manner, image deficits and toner contamination in the apparatus caused by a toner for an unprinted part out of an image forming region due to deviation of accuracy in positioning of the recording material with respect to the image forming regions are prevented.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-171554 suggests an image forming apparatus in which an image without margins is formed which is obtained by a toner image formed up to the end portions of a recording material without providing margins. In the case of printing the image without margins, a toner image relatively larger than the recording material is formed onto an image bearing member such as an intermediate transfer member, and the toner image formed on the image bearing member is transferred the recording material. In this manner, even when the positions of the toner image formed on the image bearing member and the recording material are deviated from each other to some extent, margins are not allowed to be present on the recording material.
However, in this case, the toner for the unprinted part out of an image forming region on the recording material may adhere the edges (end portions) of the recording material.
Normally, in a conventional image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic type, a toner is fixed onto the recording material by heating and pressurizing a transferred recording material in a fixing device. However, heat and pressure are not efficiently transmitted to the edges of the recording material, and hence the toner is not fixed in some cases even after passing through the fixing device. Further, there is a problem in that a stain of toner left at the end portions of the recording material having passed through the fixing device taints the circumference thereof when being peeled off afterward.